Chapter 39

Chapter 39
After hearing Bai Ruxu’s request, some people on site showed sympathetic expressions.

Who couldn’t see that Pei Chuzhi followed the glamorous actress route? With such a bewitching face, asking her to play eighteen-year-old Zhuo Wei just discovering love—wasn’t that deliberately making things difficult?

Bai Ruxu ignored the surrounding discussion and pointed behind Pei Chuzhi: “Set the scene as a classroom. There are some props on the table over there. Choose three you can use. The rest is up to you.”

Pei Chuzhi nodded and turned to look at the table.

There were all kinds of props, even a pair of glittering handcuffs. Who knew how passionate a scene would require something like that.

Her eyelid twitched. She glanced over the obviously unsuitable props and began searching for what she needed.

Staff moved two sets of desks and chairs to the center, simply arranging a classroom atmosphere.

While waiting, someone in the front row turned around and joked: “Teacher Xing, maybe you should avoid this part? Don’t affect your girlfriend’s performance. It wouldn’t be good if you two end up arguing afterward.”

Xing Ye lazily lifted his eyelids, his tone calm as if he didn’t care at all: “No need. They’re all professional actors. What’s there to argue about.”

His reply was stiff, completely missing the teasing tone.

The other party, embarrassed, could only laugh awkwardly and pretend nothing happened.

Pei Chuzhi, carefully selecting props, didn’t catch this little interlude. She was actually still a bit nervous.

A few years ago during art school exams, she also experienced this kind of improvisation. But compared to the creativity valued back then, what Bai Ruxu cared about today was surely the actor’s understanding of the character.

No fixed question, no clear standard—no wonder earlier actors said this audition was very difficult.

In less than two minutes, Pei Chuzhi returned with three props and showed them to Bai Ruxu.

A book, a pen, and a lollipop.

Someone on site sneered lightly. The lollipop was not appearing for the first time today.

Earlier, an actress tried to show youthful innocence and sexiness, eating a lollipop while seductively gazing at Jiang Yu, the male actor in the scene. She probably thought she performed well, but in reality everyone—including Jiang Yu—was too embarrassed to say anything.

Bai Ruxu neither approved nor disapproved, and said lightly: “Begin.”

Pei Chuzhi pulled out a chair and sat down, casually placing the pen and lollipop at the edge of the desk.

She wore light makeup today, her lip color pale and clear. But when she lowered her eyes to flip through the book, her striking beauty still made it hard to associate her with Zhuo Wei in her senior year of high school.

Bai Ruxu frowned slightly.

After Xing Ye approached him earlier, he had his assistant compile Pei Chuzhi’s information.

She was indeed beautiful, and not vulgar-looking. On the big screen, she would be a face people wanted to understand.

But Zhuo Wei in her youth shouldn’t be like this. She should be like a peach under sunlight, radiating a tempting yet pure fragrance.

Pei Chuzhi couldn’t hear Bai Ruxu’s thoughts and didn’t intend to pay attention to others’ reactions.

She simply lowered her head, hearing Jiang Yu’s footsteps approaching, then the sound of a chair being pulled as he sat down.

That was the boy she secretly loved.

Pei Chuzhi’s face remained calm. She lightly flipped the book. When the page turned left, her gaze, shielded by thick eyelashes, slipped slightly in that direction.

She didn’t dare look too much—after seeing the boy’s slender wrist, she quietly withdrew her gaze.

A girl in spring, half-hidden, half-revealed.

Only at this moment did a trace of surprise appear in Bai Ruxu’s eyes.

He slowly straightened his back, wanting to see how, after showing the character’s innocence, Pei Chuzhi would interact with Jiang Yu in seduction.

Jiang Yu didn’t actively offer cues. He simply pretended to open a workbook and started solving problems, looking completely like studying brought him joy.

Pei Chuzhi glanced at him again and bit her lip.

She picked up the pen on the desk, lightly holding it with her fingertips, then idly twirled it.

Each turn, the pen tip tapped lightly on the desk.

Tap, tap, tap.

Jiang Yu finally couldn’t stand the disturbance and looked up at her.

Pei Chuzhi even softened her breathing. When Jiang Yu’s brows gradually frowned, she turned her face slightly: “Why are you looking at me?”

She didn’t deliberately soften her voice; it was clean and crisp.

Bai Ruxu exchanged a glance with the head screenwriter, surprised that she dared to present Zhuo Wei’s contradictory sides.

Zhuo Wei was in her final year of high school. Though naive, she also had an instinctive yearning for love.

She was by no means a weak, harmless little white rabbit. Pei Chuzhi didn’t only show her shy side; she understood the courage and fearlessness deep inside the character.

Clearly she deliberately attracted Jiang Yu to look at her, yet she still dared to righteously accuse him first.

Jiang Yu seemed helpless with her and said in a low voice, “Can you stop spinning the pen?”

“Oh…”

Pei Chuzhi dragged out the tone and spread her palm. “Then take it away.”

Jiang Yu seemed to find her childish, lowered his head, and continued doing homework.

Tap, tap, tap.

The subtle noise sounded again.

The head screenwriter laughed. Pei Chuzhi captured that mischievous teenage-girl energy perfectly.

And Bai Ruxu, who had been somewhat absent-minded at the beginning, had unknowingly leaned forward, watching carefully and intently.

Jiang Yu took a deep breath, pulled back his chair, and stood up: “Give it to me.”

Pei Chuzhi pressed her lips and smiled secretly, slowly withdrawing her hand and closing the book. While placing the book aside, she quietly hid the pink-wrapped lollipop in her palm.

Jiang Yu didn’t notice her small movement and thought she refused to give it: “Even during self-study, you must follow classroom discipline. You can’t affect other classmates. Give it to me first; I’ll return it after evening study.”

“Alright.”

Pei Chuzhi blinked, pulled down her sleeve to hide the lollipop, and clenched her fist so only the longer part of the pen showed.

Just as Jiang Yu reached to pull the pen, he felt his fingers gently held. He froze, surprise and panic flashing across his face.

Pei Chuzhi moved her fingers, pushing the lollipop little by little into Jiang Yu’s palm.

She raised her small face, joy glimmering in her eyes: “It’s for you.”

“Okay, stop here.”

Bai Ruxu clapped, signaling the two actors to stop, then discussed a few words with the people beside him. When he spoke again, his tone was slightly more friendly than before: “Thank you for your hard work.”

The audition result wouldn’t be announced on site, and Pei Chuzhi couldn’t hear feedback immediately.

She discreetly glanced around and saw that the main creative members in the first row looked fairly satisfied, so she knew her performance at least hadn’t gone wrong.

So she smiled at everyone and turned to leave the conference room.

As soon as the door closed, the head screenwriter picked up her materials and flipped through them: “I think she’s good. She expressed that young-girl feeling, and she’s smart—she knows how to use props for design.”

Bai Ruxu was silent for a few seconds, then agreed: “I also think she’s good. Her appearance can be adjusted through styling. The key is capturing the character’s traits.”

The producer hesitated for a while and said nothing.

His perspective differed from theirs. If they chose Pei Chuzhi, they would have to reject Chu Man. But the person behind Chu Man had already hinted that if she wasn’t the female lead, he wouldn’t invest a single cent.

Each of the main creators had their own thoughts. No one noticed that Xing Ye, who had been silent in the back row, had already tightened his jaw into a cold, hard line.

·

Pei Chuzhi had just gathered her things and was about to leave when she received a message from Xing Ye.

【Wait outside for me.】

She replied with a “Okay,” stood by the corridor outside the conference room, and planned to search for a nearby café with a good environment to pass the time.

There were still several actresses in the waiting room; for them to finish auditioning one by one would take at least about an hour.

Before she picked a place, the door of the audition conference room opened from inside.

The thick carpet muffled footsteps, but the man’s tall figure appeared unmistakably in her sight.

Xing Ye’s face was dark, some unknown emotion suppressed in his black pupils. When he walked up to her, he said coldly, “Let’s go.”

Pei Chuzhi was startled and followed behind him. “You’re not watching the rest?”

“What’s there to watch.”

A trace of irritation tainted Xing Ye’s tone. “I only came to fulfill my duty as a boyfriend.”

He said “boyfriend” so naturally that Pei Chuzhi’s heart trembled.

They stopped in front of the elevator one after another. She pursed her lips and asked, “Then how do you think I did just now?”

Xing Ye pressed the elevator button. “Pretty good.”

“Really?” A hint of joy rose at the end of her tone. “Actually I’ve never experienced this kind of audition. For a few seconds my mind went blank. That scene was completely designed by instinct…”

Xing Ye lowered his eyes and glanced at her.

For some reason, his gaze looked very displeased.

The joy of being recognized by the movie emperor vanished instantly. Pei Chuzhi looked at the slowly rising elevator numbers, then at Xing Ye’s hostile aura, and hesitantly asked, “Are you unhappy? Because I… ‘seduced’ someone else?”

The elevator doors opened before them.

Xing Ye walked in without a word.

Pei Chuzhi followed. When the doors closed again, she became even more convinced he was angry about this.

Her shoe tip rubbed against the floor as she shifted a few inches toward him.

Standing beside him, Pei Chuzhi asked, half confused and half aggrieved, “Why be angry? I’m an actress. I’ll definitely film romantic scenes with others. You can’t interfere with my work just because we have a contract, right?”

Besides, when you film romantic scenes with other actresses, I didn’t stop you either.

She added silently in her heart.

Xing Ye licked his lips, agitation filling his chest.

He turned to face Pei Chuzhi. Even though they were already close, he still stepped forward forcefully.

Pei Chuzhi instinctively stepped back, her back pressing against the mirrored wall of the elevator.

Only the faint hum of the elevator remained, filling every corner of the narrow space.

He blocked most of the light; the remaining bit fell along the side of his face, making his pupils darker and brighter.

Pei Chuzhi held her breath, noticing the restrained anger between his brows.

Xing Ye lowered his head. His lips were only a hair’s breadth from her forehead, his warm breath unsteady, like flames licking the corners of her eyes and brows.

“You think I’d be angry over something like this?”

His voice was low, carrying a hidden warning.

A sliver of light suddenly flashed.

Before he could speak again, Pei Chuzhi spoke first: “I understand now.”

“…” Xing Ye’s eyes darkened. “Understand what?”

“I shouldn’t have given him candy.”

Pei Chuzhi’s voice softened, guilt unconsciously filling her eyes. “But at the time I couldn’t think of another method. Then I vaguely heard your voice, and I thought… I thought if I treated him as the you from before…”

It felt a bit embarrassing, like she had used him.

Xing Ye was silent for a few seconds before asking, “Treat him as me?”

“Mm, the script didn’t write what kind of person Zhuo Wei’s first love was. I needed an imagined target to design the scene.”

Pei Chuzhi’s enunciation grew vague. Her fingers curled into her sleeves, trembling from shyness. “The person I imagined… was you when you were little.”

The furrow between Xing Ye’s brows finally relaxed.

He stepped back two steps, giving back the light and space. Then he leaned lazily against the opposite wall, seeming to want to say something, but before the words came out, they were covered by his low chuckle.

The elevator reached the ground floor, and the doors slid open.

Pei Chuzhi was about to step out when the man beside her called to stop her.

She turned back, her gaze falling into Xing Ye’s eyes carrying a faint smile.

He raised his chin, the corner of his lips curving: “Can I ask you for a favor?”

Pei Chuzhi’s knees went weak; she almost knelt down.

What virtue or ability did she have for Xing Ye to ask her for something! If this spread out, she’d definitely be hunted to the ends of the earth by Wildfire!

“What you’ve done to me, don’t do it to other men in the future.”

Xing Ye walked over and bent down, his tone half like a threat, half like negotiation. “Let my position with you be a bit special, alright?”

Author’s note: Zhizhi: Not alright

– The End –

Thanks to the little angels who cast overlord tickets or irrigated nutrient solution between 2019-12-18 21:29:30 and 2019-12-19 22:03:20~

Thanks to the little angels who threw landmines: samsara 2;

Thanks to the little angels who irrigated nutrient solution: A Zhi Xian Yu 7 bottles; Kiko 4 bottles; Man Sha Hua Other Shore Flower 2 bottles; Ha Ha Ha Ha Husky 1 bottle;

Thank you very much for everyone’s support, I will continue to work hard!